Leicester: New mental health unit to tackle safety concerns

Plans to replace Leicester’s main mental health treatment facility with a more modern facility are set to be approved.

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust wants to decommission the 1980s-built Bradgate unit at Glenfield Hospital.

The trust said it would not be possible to address concerns raised about mental health care in its current premises.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said some existing wards “were not always safe, clean, well maintained and fit for purpose”.

A planning application for a new building near the site of the current one is to be discussed by Blaby District Council on Thursday.

Planning officers have recommended that the scheme be approved by councillors.

The trust said it did not wish to comment ahead of the meeting.

However, in documents submitted to the council, the trust said: “The current accommodation is not suitable for a modern mental health service.

“Successive visits by the Care Quality Commission have identified a number of pertinent issues at the Bradgate site which cannot be rectified without substantial investment.”

The trust did not say how much the new facility would cost to build.

The documents add: “It is recognized that it will not be possible to further improve the facilities or address the outstanding issues raised by CQC without significant capital investment in a new state-of-the-art, purpose-built facility.”

Under the plans, four new adult mental health wards will be created, along with therapy spaces, a “safety assessment unit”, offices and an educational training center and an urgent care centre.

The new building would sit on an 8.5-acre (3.42-hectare) pasture site, which includes temporary staff parking.

The trust said the current Bradgate facility would either be demolished or converted into a permanent pharmacy building serving the hospital.